Deltas are landforms where the mouth of a river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, or another river.
These landforms, which are home to millions of people, are currently the focus of intense study due to ongoing
climate change. They also are of particular interest to my research group due to our location on the Mississippi
Delta in New Orleans. Current research interests include quantifying the internal dynamics of deltas through statistics,
the influence of tectonics on deltas, including growth faulting and the Pleistocene evolution of the Mississippi delta.

Projects:
Statistical methods for quantifying autogenic processes in sedimentary basins: with Liz Hajek (Penn State University)
Research assistantship available for this project

Alluvial basins provide important records of climate and tectonic changes on Earth, as well as information about how land surfaces evolve under
different boundary conditions. Consequently our ability to reliably interpret and predict stratigraphic patterns is fundamentally important both
scientifically and in its bearing on broader society. Recent work has shown that internally-generated (autogenic) dynamics in sedimentary
systems can produce stratigraphy that mimics patterns produced by tectonics, climate, and eustatic change. In light of these results, it is
clear that new quantitative methods are needed to filter autogenic signals from sedimentary deposits in order fully understand and model
stratigraphy.

Using a combination of reduced-scale experiments, numerical modeling, and fieldwork, we are measuring signals of autogenic sedimentation
patterns in alluvial basins. Our work is utilizing two recently developed statistical methods to measure stratigraphic patterns: the
compensation index and the K function measure of channel clustering. These surface and object based statistics compare observed stratigraphic
organization to synthetic patterns produced by statistically defined random processes. By quantifying these patterns, we are extracting
information about the underlying autogenic processes that build stratigraphy. This work will improve efforts at recovering meaningful data
about autogenic processes from stratigraphic datasets, isolating signals of changing boundary conditions in ancient basins, and modeling and
predicting stratigraphy in alluvial basins.

Experiments for this project will take place in our new Delta Basin. This project is supported by the National Science Foundation. The grant
includes funds for graduate and undergraduate support (please contact me if you are interested in pursuing research on this topic).
Read More.

Reconstructing ancient passive margin dynamics by relating geomorphic and stratigraphic surfaces: with Ben
Sheets (U. of Washington)Research Assistantship available for this project

The primary objective of this project is to improve our ability to invert the stratigraphic record for paleo-surface-dynamics and topography.
The architecture of continental margin stratigraphy contains features which resemble bars, channels, and channel networks, yet scientists
cannot precisely reconstruct the relationship between these preserved deposits and the geomorphic processes that constructed them. This is
unfortunate, as the stratigraphic records of modern systems contain invaluable information that could improve our ability to interpret paleo
climatic and tectonic records in active and ancient rift settings.

Due to the large spatial and temporal scales associated with natural systems, we are investigating this through reduced scale experiments,
in which surface topography is monitored at high spatial and temporal scales. Coupled with digital images of stratigraphy produced by these
experimental systems, we are quantifying the relationship between geomorphic and stratigraphic surfaces. Our range of planned experiments
will allow for the targeted investigation of controls on the construction of channelized passive margin stratigraphy, including parameters
such as channel mobility, avulsion rate, and flow type.

Data collected from each experiment will be used to construct statistical relationships between morphodynamics and stratigraphic surfaces
in one, two, and three dimensions. These data, in turn, will be used to benchmark the development of deterministic cellular models of
channelized flow. Finally, we are planning to apply these insights to the inversion of physical stratigraphy from two field sites: 1) the
Quaternary stratigraphy of the Mississippi Delta below Breton Sound and the Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone.

Heavy-tailed statistics in depositional systems and implications for stratigraphy: with Vamsi Ganti, Efi
Foufoula-Georgiou, and Chris Paola (U. of Minnesota)
In depositional systems, channels migrate from one location to another causing erosion and deposition at any given point in the domain.
The duration of depositional and erosional events, as well as their magnitudes controls the structure of the stratigraphic record. In this
study, we are using high-resolution temporal surface elevation data from a controlled delta experiment to quantify the probability
distributions of the processes that govern the evolution of depositional systems. We have documented heavy-tailed statistics of erosional
and depositional events indicating that a small, but significant chance exists for the occurrence of extreme events. We have found that
channel depths act as a first order control on the truncation of these heavy-tailed distributions. Further, we have found that the heavy
tails in the magnitudes of the erosion and depositional events are not preserved in the stratigraphic record, resulting in an exponential
distribution for the distribution of bed thicknesses.Read More.

The combination of relative subsidence and sediment transport systems in geological basins produce environmental
conditions favorable to the construction of stratigraphy. While it is clear that these two conditions are
necessary to produce thick stratigraphic packages, we lack a full description of how spatial and temporal
patterns of relative subsidence feedback on sediment transport systems or visa-versa. One qualitative feedback
model that is widely used when interpreting the stratigraphic record is compensation stacking of sedimentary
deposits. Compensational stacking is the tendency of flow event deposits to fill topographic lows and as a result
smooth topographic relief. We are currently using data from experimental, and field scale in both deep and
shallow water settings to study the tendency of stratigraphy to aggrade through compensational stacking.
Read More.

Early stratigraphic architecture models developed by Leeder and Allen hypothesized that the density of channel
deposits for any given basin was highest at the location of maximum subsidence. However, recent experiments in
the XES basin have shown that channels are not always directed to the regional subsidence maximum. We are
examining the relationship between the time-scale of autogenic sediment transport field reorganizations and the
shape/rate of basin subsidence to determine when channels are or are not steered by tectonics. This work should
improve our ability to decipher environmental and or tectonic signals from stratigraphic interpretations.

Influence of growth faults on regional subsidence rates in the Lower Mississippi Delta:
with David Mohrig (U. Texas Austin)

Throughout the past century, the Louisiana coastline has been deteriorating at an alarming rate. Fault
induced subsidence has been suggested to be one of the likely drivers of this land loss. We are directly
addressing the control of faulting on Quaternary delta subsidence using an industry grade 3D seismic survey
to evaluate the interaction of complex fault patterns and shallow substrate (<1 s or 1,000 m). We aim to asses
the control of normal faults on the present day delta topography and compare the long term fault influenced
subsidence rates to short term (1-10 year) GPS derived subsidence rates.